Detroit Doctor Charged With Female Genital Mutilation of 7 year Olds

One of the young girls involved believed she was going on a “special girls’ trip.”

Jumana Nagarwala, a 44-year-old emergency room physician from Northville, Michigan, was arrested Wednesday night after an FBI investigation uncovered that she allegedly removed clitoral skin from two 7-year-old girls at a medical office earlier this year.

David Ashenfelter, a public information officer for the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan, told The Huffington Post that Nagarwala appeared in court on Thursday, where the judge advised her of her rights. No plea has been entered at this point. The physician is being temporarily held in jail until her next court date on Monday, when a judge will decide whether she should continue to be held in prison while awaiting trial.

Nagarwala is being represented by Shannon Smith, a Bloomfield Hills-based attorney who specialized in defending allegations of criminal sexual conduct.

Although it is mistakenly linked to religion, FGM is a cultural custom that predates both Christianity and Islam. It is practiced by some members of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other faiths, according to Human Rights Watch.